TNT Afghan Hash

TNT Afghan Hash is weighed out in five sizes, the smallest 1 g and the largest 28 g. The Afghan in its name refers to a tradition in which, according to UNODC’s 2009 Afghanistan cannabis survey, hash starts as garda, a resin-rich powder sifted from dried plants.

Sifting garda, step by step

Garda making starts, in the survey’s account, with dried plants knocked against a drum until the buds come away; the powder is collected and cleaned of seeds. That material is sieved on an inclined wooden frame covered with cloth, then shaken for about 5 minutes inside a cloth bag; the survey says the sieving is done three times in all.

Grading the powder

Three grades of garda are the norm, first, second and third, though the survey found a fourth in a few southern cases. First garda has the highest share of resin and usually comes from the first, gentle shaking and sieving, while the lower grades probably carry much more plant matter. UNODC adds that grading follows no fixed standard across regions. Our dry sift guide looks at sifted hash and its grades more broadly.

Pressing, cooking and kneading

The survey describes regional ways of turning garda into hash. In the south, small amounts are made by pressing garda between the palms: resin-rich first garda turns sticky with rubbing alone, while lower-quality garda gets a little water to help it bind. The mass is then heated over a low flame, a step called cooking, through several rounds of rubbing and heating. Machine kneading of garda into hashish paste, using machinery that came from Pakistan, is a more recent development used by traders rather than farmers.

A summer crop in numbers

UNODC describes cannabis as a summer crop in Afghanistan: sowing runs from April to June, and the harvest from October to January. Farmers in the survey named a pink-red-stemmed type, said to give better resin, and a green-stemmed type. The survey put 2009 cultivation at 10,000 to 24,000 hectares and total garda output at 1,500 to 3,500 tonnes.